Stacey Milbern Park Obituary – People were shocked and heartbroken when Stacey Park Milbern died suddenly on her 33rd birthday two years ago. She will be remembered as a powerful leader with an uncanny ability to organize others.
Milbern was a well-known American disability rights activist who helped to found the disability justice movement and pushed for persons with disabilities to be treated fairly.
Google will memorialize the activist with a Doodle on Thursday, Stacey’s 35th birthday and second death anniversary, as part of its Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event.
Google Doodle: Stacey Park Milbern Obituary & Cause Of Death Explained
Stacey Park Milbern died two years ago on her 33rd birthday, on May 19, 2020, due to surgical complications. Over Stacey’s life, this pioneer in the disability justice movement also advocated for fair treatment of people of color.
Additionally, she advocated for those who are transgender and gender-nonconforming and also for those people without housing.
Towards the end of her life, Stacey faced health issues. Even her surgery to remove her own fast-growing kidney cancer was postponed due to shelter-in-place orders (lockdown restrictions).
Google Doodle Honors Disability Rights Activist Stacey Park Milbern https://t.co/agLwSxp3Su
— Gregory Mansfield (@GHMansfield) May 18, 2022
She passed away on her thirty-third birthday in a Stanford hospital. The Korean American activist is recently highlighted as Google Doodle honors the champion of the disability justice movement on Thursday.
Thursday is also Global Accessibility Awareness Day, which encourages digital accessibility and inclusion for people with all disabilities. It is intended to honor the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders to the country’s history.
What Disability Did Stacey Park Milbern Have?
Stacey Park Milbern was born with congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD) in the U.S. Army Hospital in Seoul on May 19, 1987. She was mixed-race, born to a white father and Korean mother.
Growing up in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in a military family, as her father was in the United States Army, she always embraced and celebrated elements of her identity that stood out in an evangelical Christian family, especially her sexuality.
She often penned poetry and wrote referring to disability issues on a personal blog in which she explained herself as “just your everyday queer disabled Korean girl living in the South.”
This week is dedicated to remembering and celebrating the life of Stacey Park Milbern, our dear friend, colleague, and ancestor. Stacey passed away on May 19th, 2020 — her birthday. We remember her joy and her big dreams.
A #StaceyTaughtUs ?
? @movementphotog pic.twitter.com/OOpWH9cj2M
— LaVant Consulting Inc (@lavantconsultng) May 16, 2022
As a young girl, Stacey could walk but eventually began using a wheelchair, further leading to her increased disability activism and awareness. While only in her teens, she started serving on disability rights commissions.
In 2007 Stacey was instrumental in helping pass a North Carolina law requiring that disability history curriculum be taught in schools. Later she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, a region central to the disability rights movement at 24.
Google Doodle: Stacey Park Milbern Family -Her Husband and Daughter
Stacey Park Milbern was born to a white father and a Korean mother. She grew up in a military family in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Stacey’s father was in the United States Army, as mentioned earlier.
As a child, Stacey relied on her family as caregivers. Still, as she began to identify as queer, she feared her evangelical Christian parents’ judgment and later aimed to move out.
????THIS @GoogleDoodles today celebrating the life and work of Stacey Park Milbern!
My heart is full & light at the same time.
Artist credit: @art_twink https://t.co/hVMkXTTY8w #APAHM #GoogleDoodle #DisabilityJustice #DisabilityTwitter #APAHM22 pic.twitter.com/oFj9Fh2qx5
— Alice Wong 王美華 (@SFdirewolf) May 19, 2022
Milbern was not married, so the question of her husband and children is futile. At 16 years old, Stacey began serving in disability rights leadership roles, including as Community Outreach Director for the National Youth Leadership Network.
In early 2020, duriing the time of the COVID-19 pandemic spread to the Bay Area, Stacey, alongside her four friends constituting the Disability Justice Culture Club, dispersed disease prevention kits, disinfectants, hand sanitizer, and respirators.
Last Updated on May 19, 2022 by 247 News Around The World
